Vaccine hopes and M&A action power European stocks and U.S. equity futures - MarketWatch

equity futures, driven by vaccine hopes, mergers and acquisitions news.

rose 0.3% after ending last week nearly 1.7% higher, the best weekly return since the week ending August 7.

rose 0.4%, while the FTSE 100 index.

Investors will hear from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan in the coming days, in a busy week for central bank meetings.

dropping 4.1%, its worst weekly loss since the week ending March 20.

Renewed hopes over a coronavirus vaccine also helped improved sentiment at the beginning of the week.

chief executive officer, Albert Bourla, said in an interview on Sunday that the drugmaker should know if its COVID-19 vaccine candidate will work by the end of October — and if approved, it could be distributed in the U.S

The study was halted last week following a U.K

Shares of AstraZeneca rose 0.5%

Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp

for a mix of cash and stock

The technology sector was also lifted by M&A, with shares of German software group SAP

Software group Oracle

said on Monday that it has submitted a nonbinding offer to acquire Borsa Italiana from London Stock Exchange Group

The pan-European exchange partnered with Italian lenders Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Equity and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA

Euronext shares slipped 0.2% and London Stock Exchange shares rose 0.5%

Callum Keown is a Barron's Group reporter for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region

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